Most people would go on to become a doctor after getting a double degree in microbiology and biochemistry, but as you’ll soon discover, Kaplan is not like most people. Instead, the University of Toronto graduate decided to turn his talents as a caricaturist into a career and hit the Yellow Brick Road in pursuit of pursuing the celebrities he grew up celebrating. His affinity for the famous began at adolescence, when a young Kaplan would sit in front of a bunny-eared television set and draw portraits of his favourite stars from Hollywood Squares, The Brady Bunch and The Lucy Show. “I think sometimes things are innate, I mean who tells a seven-year-old to start sketching Charlie Chaplin or Lucille Ball?” says Kaplan, who began studying and corresponding with legendary caricaturist to the stars, Al Hirschfeld. “I thought, ‘I want to be like him, I want to do what he does.’ That’s when I started to draw caricatures a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, like all the time!”

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Kaplan began pitching his cartoons to local newspapers and was almost immediately syndicated in Canada. As his success snowballed, he proceeded to push his “Where are they Now” column to nearly 60 newspapers in the U.S. that picked it up. His idea to send cartoons directly to celebrities was probably one of his greatest. “You never know what’s going to happen, so if you don’t try anything, nothing will happen,” says Kaplan, who had to resort to phone books and mail in a pre-dot-com era. When he started getting positive feedback and thank-you letters from people like George Michael, John Travolta and Quentin Tarantino, Kaplan became captivated. One instance of gratitude particularly rings a bell: “I answered the phone and someone said, ‘Please hold for Bono.’ I was like, ‘what!?’”

Eventually it got to a point where Kaplan wanted the people he sketched on paper to come to life. He wanted to meet them face-to-face. He started pitching TV concepts to production companies and eventually, Totally Tracked Down got picked up in 2010. “I was pitching it as a producer and they said, ‘Well, why don’t you host it?’” So the offbeat, spikey haired, self-proclaimed “nut bar” from Woodbridge set out to Los Angeles to track down stars like Seinfeld’s Estelle Harris and The Brady Bunch’s Christopher Knight. Sometimes he’d have to jump through hoops and harass family and friends, while other times he’d just happen to be at the right place at the right time. “You have to think positive and you attract positivity. Here I am, I have this affinity towards celebrities, and I bump into them,” says Kaplan, which was the case when he spotted Lindsay Lohan outside the Beverley Hills Hotel on one of his days off. “I saw her walk in and followed her … the whole time we were talking she held my hand, she never let go of my hand once and she always looked me right in the eyes, sweet as can be.” Totally Tracked Down was cancelled when a new production company came in, but Kaplan was consoled when his show was posthumously nominated for a Gemini award.

When Kaplan looks back on his career, he’s proud of the decisions he’s made. His cartoons are still published between 400 – 500 times a year in various North American newspapers, and his mind permeates with new show concepts he hopes to create. As for his time spent studying sciences in university? He would never erase those years; it’s there that he fell in love with his wife of 21 years, Frances. The couple has three children. “Follow your heart, that’s the first thing. Do whatever you want in life because if you do what you want you’ll be successful because you’re happy.”

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In these uncertain times, what is your advice for people going through difficult situations?
A: We must remember that the most successful and resilient people are able to transform challenges into opportunities. Each distraction or challenging situation that life throws our way must be interpreted as a learning point and as an opportunity to improve as human beings. This is the time to shed our old ways, to create and be remarkably innovative, and remake old business models. A simple way to deal with stress is to focus on the positive and distance yourself from the overwhelming negative news in the world right now.

You talk and write a lot about this concept in “Lead Without Title.” Explain what leadership means to you.
A: Every person within an organization has the opportunity to show leadership behaviour each day. Leadership is far less about position than it is about attitude and the way you show up each day. Leaders without a title are able to seize opportunities amidst setbacks, constantly innovate, and treat people with compassion. Every person can be the CEO of his or her own role. For example, frontline sales staff can become ‘CEOs’ of the division or business they’re responsible for. This enables them to assume job ownership and foster a sense of freedom to control their own careers. The role of great leaders is to help their staff to realize their own potential, driving them to do their best and work towards excellence.

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Who inspires you?
A: My two children are my heroes. They teach me what passion, curiosity, joy and unconditional love looks like. People like Bono, Richard Branson, and Nelson Mandela inspire me. Unknown human beings reaching for their own unique form of personal and professional greatness inspire me. My readers – and all their stories of personal and professional transformation – inspire me deeply.

Could you name three of your best tips or pieces of advice, that people can quickly adopt into their daily lives?
A: Be the greatest you can be before it is too late, because no one knows how long we are going to live. Run towards your fears rather than away from them. Within your business or organization, show leadership in whatever title you have, and help build a culture of success, and build strong relationships.

How do you define happiness?
A: Happiness is being in the process of creating what’s most important to you in all significant areas of your life (including work, home and personal). Happiness is not about reaching the destination, but about enjoying the process of getting to your own personal mountaintop. Happiness is also about being true to yourself and living life on your own terms rather than according to the values and dreams of others.

In your books, you encourage people to spend 60 minutes a day reading. What are your favorite books?
A: Reading is having a conversation with the author. Just imagine having a conversation today with Mahatma Gandhi and Richard Branson and Lance Armstrong and Salvador Dali and Madonna – by reading their books. One idea read in one book has the power to revolutionize your life or your career. I love to read. My greatest gift to my kids will be my library.  Some of my favorite books are “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho, who has become a good friend. “The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius” and “The Prophet” by Kalhil Gibran. I still love classics like “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie as well as a lot of the popular business books out there like “Winning” by Jack Welch and Jim Collins’ “Good to Great”.

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